squirrel away

verb

"squirrel-away" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“squirrel away” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply.

Key facts for squirrel away
PropertyValue
Headwordsquirrel away
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “squirrel away” sits in English frequency

squirrel away falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for squirrel away is 13 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for squirrel away, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Suggesting the way that squirrels hide nuts in a cache. The correct English form is squirrel away, spelled S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L- -A-W-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply.

Etymology

Suggesting the way that squirrels hide nuts in a cache.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "squirrel away"?
"squirrel away" is spelled S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L- -A-W-A-Y.
What does "squirrel away" mean?
As a verb, "squirrel away" means: To stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply.
What is the origin of the word "squirrel away"?
Suggesting the way that squirrels hide nuts in a cache. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “squirrel away”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L- -A-W-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list